New Delhi, Aug. 16 : CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee has said that black money is a serious problem, which needs strict handling.

“The black money that is either outside the country and or inside needs to be brought into the economic mainstream for obvious reasons,” he added.

Banerjee said the CII also believes that offenders in the area of black money must be dealt with stringent punishments.

“In this context CII commends the steps announced in ‘The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015’, which will help in curbing black money,” he added.

The CII Director General further said many countries across the world have adopted measures to prevent illicit financial outflows and to promote disclosure of unreported income, stringent penalties are applicable under money laundering legislations globally.

“The Bill provides for strict prosecution mechanism and also provides a one-time voluntary compliance opportunity for immunity from prosecution if appropriate taxes and penalty have been paid. This is a step in the right direction,” Banerjee said.

“In addition to the Bill, several important steps including agreements with countries like the US for real time sharing of information on Indian nationals holding assets abroad have been taken by the government and CII is deeply appreciative of these,” he added. (ANI)